- The majority of teachers' referendums remain in the country
The preferred school type for aspiring teachers remains the Gymnasium. According to the Ministry of Education in Schwerin, 45 out of 100 trainee teachers who received their certificates on Wednesday and successfully completed their training, chose to become gymnasium teachers. 20 graduates opted for regional schools, where there is a particularly high demand, 18 for primary schools, 10 for vocational schools, and 7 for special needs schools.
According to Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Left Party), 86% of graduates have decided to work at a school in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with 58 of them set to continue teaching at their training schools. "This shows that our hiring guarantee is a good tool for attracting teachers to our federal state," the Minister explained. 78 graduates will be hired permanently into the state's teaching service starting August 1st. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania recruits trainee teachers four times a year.
There is not enough new talent to fill all open positions. Like other federal states, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is struggling to fill open teaching positions. Earlier reports indicated that around half of the approximately 12,600 teachers in public schools will retire by 2030. Around 1,000 new hires are needed each year to compensate for retirements and cover additional needs. Since this cannot be achieved solely with teaching graduates, more lateral entrants are being hired and trained on the job.
The Government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is actively recruiting trainee teachers four times a year to address the shortage of teachers due to retirements. To attract more teachers, the Government has implemented a hiring guarantee, which Oldenburg, the Education Minister, believes is effective.
